Report: South Korea manager Jurgen Klinsmann sacked by KFA

The KFA President felt Jurgen Klinsmann’s tenure fell short of expectations.

After a tragically dramatic exit from the AFC Asian Cup 2023, the axe has fallen on Jurgen Klinsmann. The German manager who took charge last February has been sacked within a year. And, pressure is put on officials behind his hiring and not having a clear communication with the board.

Earlier, the South Korean media supported the voices of fans and politicians who called for Klinsmann to be sacked after their demolition in Qatar. Moreover, there were reports of dressing room drama between top players during the tournament.

The National Team Committee of the Korea Football Association (KFA) recommended sacking Jurgen Klinsmann amid criticism of his leadership on Thursday. The Committee reached its decision during the postmortem meeting to discuss the team’s performance at the AFC Asian Cup, and put the ball in the court of the Executive Board to take the final call. 

As reported by Reuters, Hwangbo Kwan, the technical director of KFA told after the meeting, “For various reasons, there was a conclusion that coach Klinsmann can no longer exercise leadership as the national team’s coach and needs to be replaced.”

Hwangbo added that some saw Klinsmann’s attitude towards his job including a lack of time spent in South Korea as ‘disrespectful’ towards the public.

After a meeting of the Executive Board on Friday, KFA President Chung Mong-gyu said Klinsmann’s tenure fell short of expectations. 

As per ESPN, Chung said, “Coach Klinsmann failed to demonstrate leadership that we expected from the national team coach, including game management, player management and work attitude, which elevate the competitiveness of the national team.”

South Korea were trying to win the country’s first AFC Asian Cup title since 1960, and KFA felt Klinsmann wasted what was a golden generation of South Korean football talent. The squad featured Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min, Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-in and Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae among others.

Klinsmann won the World Cup in 1990 as a player and coached the German and the U.S National teams as well as Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. He showed his sincere gratitude towards the players and the staff through an instagram post ahead of the announcement. 

Yonhap News TV reported on Thursday that former South Korean international Hong Myung-bo is reportedly among the names to temporarily lead the team for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

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